A musician accused of the manslaughter of an actor’s daughter at a festival told a police officer that she scraped thorns across her face and tried to eat twigs after taking a party drug, a court has heard.

Ceon Broughton claimed he and Louella Fletcher-Michie went into the woods at Bestival in Dorset after buying the drugs because they were “people of nature”.

He told a police officer that during a “bad trip”, she was shouting “Call my mum”, but claimed he believed she was saying this because of “family issues”.

The prosecution alleges Broughton did not immediately seek help for Fletcher-Michie, the 24-year-old daughter of the Holby City actor John Michie, because he feared he would be in trouble.

Broughton, 29, of Enfield, north London, denies manslaughter and supplying the class A drug 2C-P.

PC David Thompson spoke to Broughton at 1.36am on 11 September 2017 after Fletcher-Michie’s body was found. Reading from his pocket notebook, he said Broughton told him the pair went to the woods and were chilling.

Thompson continued: “He said she had a bad trip and was going mental. He said it was down to a drug he said was 2C-B [sic]. There was a point where he had to restrain and calm her. He goes on to say he called [Fletcher-Michie’s] mother.

“I tried to get him to explain why they had gone into the woods. He just explained they were people of nature. I tried to get him to elaborate about the female going mental. He explained she was trying to eat twigs and trees. She was shouting ‘Call my mum, I have had enough of this shit’. Again, I tried to get him to elaborate. He believed there might be some family issues.

“He goes on to explain she was scraping thorns across her face. He said it lasted between 30 minutes and an hour. He said he had not seen her react this way to drugs previously. He said after buying the drug, they both went into the woods.”

Winchester crown court has heard John Michie and his wife, Carol Fletcher-Michie, drove 130 miles to the festival site from their home in London after hearing their daughter “screeching” on the phone.

Thompson said he was with Broughton when he spotted Carol Fletcher-Michie. “The mother was shouting something at him and he was shouting back, ‘I kept looking for her’,” the officer said.

A log kept by one of the event’s managers, Andrew McGrory, was also read to the jury. McGrory noted he met Broughton at 12.35am on 11 September 2017.

“He was dazed and vacant, and appeared to be under the influence, but not really agitated,” the log read.

“I asked where he had last seen his girlfriend and he said in the woods. I asked what they were doing and got no response. Then he volunteered she was not well.

“I asked him if she was OK and got no response. I asked if she was breathing; he said yes. He said she was cold and he had given her his coat.

“I said ‘Cut to the chase’ and asked had they taken drugs. He said they had taken 2C-P. I realised this could be much worse than a missing girl.”